Our Little Darlings

2018 HOLIDAY SWAP ONCE UPON A NEW YEARS PAST

An announcement first:  Dorothy King has been added as a moderator to help out me and Laura with keeping up around here!  Thanks, Dorothy!  She has done a tremendous amount of work to get this swap ready and going and I thank her for it!

Ladies and gents. We have chosen a theme, which is Once Upon a New Years Past.  Little Darlings will time travel to the past and enjoy fun and games from long ago New Years days.

The two signup groups are open now.  There is one group that has a dollar limit on the swap ($35) and another with no dollar limit.  If you are interested in joining in the swapping fun, you have to do two things:

1.  Go to the group you wish to join (limited or unlimited) and click the little "Join" button in the lower right.

2.  Email that group's coordinator (Elizabeth or Dorothy) with the requested information. See instructions within the group guidelines.

You will be assigned a partner as soon as possible.

Here are the links to the groups:

LIMITED GROUP:  $35 Limit Group

UNLIMITED GROUP:  Unlimited Swap Group

If you have questions, or if I forgot something, please post below!

Full rules and signup information are in each of the links above, but here are the general deadlines for your information:

To submit your name to the coordinators: By Monday, November 5
When partners will be assigned: By Wednesday, November 7
When you should mail your swap in US: By Monday, November 26
When to mail if out of US: By Thursday, November 15
When to show your photos: Monday, Dec 25 or Tuesday, January 1

Ladies and gents!  Let's get planning for our annual holiday swap.  Please throw out some ideas to us moderators so we can start organizing.  Any theme requests this year?

Thanks!

As we welcome our 900th member, let’s take a moment to see where we all are. We know that we are an international organization but where do we all live? Let’s find out!

Take a photo of your Little Darling in front of a local historic marker, a map, or a city/state/county/country sign that shows where she or he lives. Your Little Darling could also hold up an object that symbolizes your hometown, like a small Eiffel Tower for Paris or a small Space Needle for Seattle.

In the end, we can all answer the question: where in the world is your Little Darling?

Thanks to Dorothy King for creating this activity for us!!! This was first added to Discussions.

Since we have so many new members, I just wanted to remind you that the rules state that all photos posted on this site must have a Little Darling in it (that includes avatars). If you've posted a photo for your avatar or for a discussion, etc., please find another photo with a Little Darling in it to take its place.  Thanks!!!!!

laura

Moderator with Elizabeth

As people are getting ready to do some travelling for their dolls, I got to wondering - how many of us are going to a doll show or convention?  You don't have to post the exact date - just the month would be fine.  I've already gone to my first one in April - the PNW Doll Expo in Seattle.  I had a wonderful time and spent al the money I saved for it. :>  Anyway, let's hear about all the places you are going!!  P.S.  Does anyone know what's in Austin next year????

I wasn't sure if the locks I was using to make my wigs was mohair or not.  They looked like it, they had waves, and they were soft.  I decided to do a burn test.  If they were mohair, they would stop burning when removed from the flame and leave an ash.  They would also smell like hair.  If they were acrylic, they would quickly burn all the way up and bead up.  My locks did exactly that - I almost burned my fingers!  So, make sure you know that what you are buying is what you want and keep it away from flames, especially if it's acrylic.  I know a lot of us have grandchildren and they may like to touch or play with the Little Darlings.  This is just an FYI.

Dianna has offered to do a question and answer session.  If you have any questions for her, feel free to post them below and I'll send them on to her and post the answers!

Happy Monday everyone!

World Doll Day is Saturday, June 9 and since we are an international group, all of the Little Darlings around the world want to celebrate.  But how can they get together and party????  Well, Dorothy King has come up with a way to do so.  I'll let Dorothy explain, and she will organize the celebration, but I want to give her a ton of gratitude and credit for having such a fun plan!!  Are you curious how we will pull this off??  I hope so!  Look for Dorothy's post with all of the details coming soon! 

Ladies and gents. We have collectively chosen a theme, which is Snowy Day.  The two signup groups are open as of now.  There is one group that has a dollar limit on the swap ($35) and another with no dollar limit.  If you are interested in joining in the swapping fun, you have to do two things:

1.  Go to the group you wish to join (limited or unlimited) and click the little "Join" button in the lower right.

2.  Email that group's coordinator (see instructions within the group) with the requested information.

You will be assigned a partner as soon as possible.

Here are the links to the groups:

LIMITED GROUP: https://ourlittledarlings.ning.com/groups/a-snowy-day-holiday-2017-swap-limited-group

UNLIMITED GROUP:  https://ourlittledarlings.ning.com/groups/snowy-day-holiday-2017-swap-unlimited-group

Questions, or if I forgot something, please post below!

Hi ladies and gents:

One of our much-enjoyed activities here is a holiday swap.  It's time to get that organized ASAP.  Laura and I would love if you would all submit theme ideas.

Here are what we've done in the past:

2014: https://ourlittledarlings.ning.com/groups/holiday-swap-2014

2015:  https://ourlittledarlings.ning.com/groups/holiday-tea-swap-2015

2016:  https://ourlittledarlings.ning.com/groups/holiday-swap-2016-christmas-through-the-decades

Let's talk about it and get some ideas rolling!  We will have two sub-groups again this year, one unlimited and one limited.  I'll coordinate the unlimited one and Laura will coordinate the limited one.  :)

-Elizabeth and Laura

UPDATE:  polling underway for a theme choice: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LDWTH6W

Hi everyone!  Sorry about the delay in posting the results.  I had this post mostly done Wednesday and then got interrupted and it's been open, half-done on my computer till this morning when I got a minute.  Our apologies again for the delay.  Laura and I both had unexpected things come up but we finally got the photos judged.  Here are all the photographs and at the bottom is the winner's name.  Everyone did a great job and the photos and stories were a delight to go through.  I'm sure you will all enjoy them!  

Entry 1, Pauline:

Spring is coming and Little Darling Rene'e is planning her flower garden. She has purchased flower seeds and planted them in seedling boxes.  The little seedlings are ready to transplant. Little Darling consults her gardening books and gets ready to prepare the garden bed. Soon she will have lovely flowers.

Entry 2, Joy:

My girls Samantha and Bessie Bell went out early to get started on their garden planting. Unfortunately, the garden plot has very thick weeds from all of the rain we have received this year in northern California. So, Samantha picked a bouquet of weeds of course. After a lot of work, the girls decided to take a break. Bessie Bell thinks that she will just buy her carrots this year although, I'm not so sure about Samantha. If either girl turns around and sees what is lurking behind them, I'm sure they will both be scrambling back inside quickly.

Entry 3, Kelly Selzle:

Aislin loves to help out in the garden. Lilacs are her favorite, but today we were potting herbs and veggies. Barefoot and enjoying the sunshine after all of the rain we had this spring.

Entry 4, Michele:

Pay attention now…. first we have to dig lots of little holes, and then we can plant the seeds and water our garden. Then soon, we’ll have fresh veggies to eat for dinner!

Entry 5, Michele:

I think over there would be a great place for your very first garden.  I’ll teach you how to dig the holes and plant the seeds, and later on, we can water the seedlings….. What? What did you say? WHAT is your naughty little brother up to now???

Entry 6: Carla

This first one is my Bentley who loves everything pooh.  shes playing the roll of rabbit.  Mr. rabbit thinks is her plants those little carrots back in the ground they will grow into those giant carrots he loves so much. although he hopes to sell a few so he can purchase a large jar of hunny , that's so when his pal Winnie comes to visit there will be a bit of something fer pooh to snack on..   

Entry 7: Carla

Mariah  as belle going about her morning tasks, as you can see she has gone to the bakers for her baguette, then on to her friends to borrow a new book to read.after that she suppose to spend the morning hoeing the lettuce beds..  but I think she has more reading planned instead..hum..

Laura and I both arrived at the same winner based on our points scoring system, although I have to say it was a hard choice.  And the winner is:

MICHELE with entry number 5.  We enjoyed the story and how well the photos fit with it.  Nice work!  Michele, please email me your address and I'll get your prize mailed out!

For a lot of you, it's already Tuesday as I write this.  That means you have not quite four full days to complete and send a photo of your entry to Elizabeth for the Little Darlings Plant a Garden contest.  We hope that many of you are waiting for the last minute rather than giving this a pass because it's not a swap or something similar.  Dianna formed this group with learning in mind.  What do you learn from a contest?  How about staging a photograph so that it's well lit and inviting?  How to make props from paper mache or clay?  Learning more about scale so that everything in your photo is truly the right size for your Little Darling?  I think it's evident by the scoring criteria that was provided in the initial announcement, we don't consider this a "fluff" activity.  We want you to have fun, but we want you to try to do something new, too, and learn from it.  And have you seen the prizes that Elizabeth made???  I think they are the best that we've had in a long time!  Unfortunately, only one person provided prizes this time, but they are truly something that is worth the work!

So, while four days is a short period of time, it is still doable to complete an entry for this contest.  Remember to send one (two at the most) original to this contest super duper photo(s) to Elizabeth on Friday, May 5.  What do you have to lose????

laura

Moderator with Elizabeth

PS.  New members - there are references to the contest in the Announcements section.  If you can't find them, just send me an email and I'll let you know where they are and what you need to do.  Please try to enter this contest, even if you wish you could have had more time.  Many people do their best under pressure!  :)

We were asked to do a Spring activity and now the deadline is drawing near.  May 5 is the deadline for entering your photograph to Elizabeth.  She has some beautiful prizes.  Remember the theme is Our Little Darlings Plant a Garden!!

Janie would like to remind everyone that the photo contest for garden photos closes in just over a week.  If you are considering entering, please get your entries in.  Here are the rules: http://ourlittledarlings.ning.com/blog/trying-again-little-darling-how-does-your-garden-grow

Janie is modeling a dress and shoes that will be included in the prize in addition to this overall and t-shirt set (below shoes are not included):

Well, it's official:  " Showing 1 to 50 of 700 Active Members"

Congratulations to Dianna for starting this group and YAY to us for forming this group, all 700 of us!!  I don't know about you, but I think this is impressive!  It's especially great because of how we get along with one another and share what we know - a bit of new, a question, a technique, etc.  Keep up the good work!!!!  Celebrate!!!!

laura and Elizabeth

Moderators

We've had a TON of rain these past few months in Oregon, so poor Little Darling can't plant a garden yet!  But, she needs to get the work done by May 5 - and so do you!  Just a reminder that the Spring contest ends at that time, so get your photos in to Elizabeth by then and we will go through them using the judging criteria already posted by Elizabeth.  If you need a refresher, just look back for her post (I think it's in Announcements).  This is a reminder that there's just a few weeks left before the deadline!!!!!  Have fun and be sure to read the list we will use to judge the entries!!!!

laura

Moderator with Elizabeth

I wrote to Dianna to ask her about the Keepsake Playmate.  I was totally wrong about it being vinyl.  Her letter provides an update on what she's been doing and about the Keepsake Playmates.

Hi Laura,

Would you believe we haven’t even seen the article yet?  I let my subscription laps.  I have had an extremely busy time since Christmas.  It’s been one project after the other.  After I worked on the article we had various projects to do relating the the next MDCC including  costuming the prototype for the souvenir doll and the centerpiece doll.  I decided to design the souvenir costume myself even though I am not very fast at designing costumes. I just love it! I am also working on a souvenir for a regional UFDC convention souvenir.  Meanwhile continuing to work on Little Darling orders.  A group of the artists were here the first week in March to work on our proposed workshop projects.   After they left it took me until now to finish the projects and clean up the mess that we made. I submitted the photos and the proposals to the MCDD board of directors last week.  We did have a lot of fun and I think we came up with some really fun ideas for the workshops. We all just love to have an excuse to craft something for our dolls.  I hope MDCC accepts our proposals.  Nelly and Maritza are continuing to work on the costume design for the centerpiece dolls.  

When I submitted the info for the Dolls article back in February, my plan was to create a page on Expressions web site so folks could order the kits and other supplies.  This is an idea I had a long time ago but it has been on the back burner.  The ad in the magazine gave me the incentive to do something with it.  Regretfully my time has been eaten up with these other deadlines so I didn’t get to it. The Keepsake Playmate page is the next major project on my list.  To answer your question I’m sorry to say that at the moment I don’t know where you can buy a finished Keepsake Playmate.  Our mold company, Expressions is selling the porcelain parts to make the doll.  We will soon be offering the bisque kits and all the other supplies. I have a forum on the DollCrafters ning group with a long video tutorial on how to paint the Keepsake Playmate with acrylic paints. My hope is that this will awaken some new interest in porcelain doll making since a doll crafter could make a doll without a kiln.  

Did you see the video on how to make the pose-able body on the Expressions site?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iFAEaerEMA I hope some doll makers will recognize this opportunity and make some of these 18 inch dolls.  They are so much fun because there are so many things available for that size doll.  It would be a wonderful project to do with a daughter or granddaughter.  There is bound to be a market for them too, among collectors.  I challenge anyone to do this.  I have made all the instructions available for anyone who is ambitious enough to try it.  And I think if there were a demand for the bisque-kits there are folks who have the molds and could make the parts. FYI there are quite a few different head molds available for different heads that would fit this body.  

I did renew my Dolls subscription and called the magazine to request a few extra copies.  

Now I am  going to work on the Keepsake Playmate order page.

Thanks for all your help.  

Warm regards,

Dianna

The first version of this post did not allow anyone to comment for some reason, so I'm trying again and hopefully it'll behave better this time!  Please also note the deadline change per request.

LITTLE DARLINGS PLANT A GARDEN Can you believe it? Spring is only a few weeks away. What does that mean for our Little Darlings? Planning and plotting and PLANTING their garden! The girls will have to get their gardening clothes on and "get down and dirty" with Earth's soil by May 5. To help them with their task, our group is going to have a contest with the theme of "Little Darlings Plant a Garden." There are a few requirements such as having at least one prop in your entry's photo, writing a story about it in less than 50 words, and sending in no more than 2 photos per entry. There is a maximum of 2 entries per person. Elizabeth and I will be the judges. We will use the scoring rubric (or chart) to judge the total number of points each entry receives. Here is how the entries will be judged:

SCORING RUBRIC
Points per criteria = 1 (poor) 2 3 4 5 (best)

The underlined words indicate how each criteria will be judged. Some criteria have two separate underlines. They will receive two scores.
Maximum points: 50 (10 underlines x maximum score of 5 points each)

1. The entry demonstrates the theme.

2. Background looks realistic and not too busy or distracting.

3. Outfit is appropriate for the activity.

4. There is at least one (required) prop.

5. Props are appropriate and used correctly.

6. A Little Darling is the main figure in the display.

7. Words used in the story did not exceed the limit of 50 words.

8. Photograph(s) are well-lit and in focus (limit of two photographs per entry; photos should be resized to no more than 1000 pixels wide).

You need to send your photo or photos to Elizabeth Wood through this group by May5. She will collect them and then share them with me.
We will judge them separately, then Elizabeth and I will compare our notes and numbers to find the entry with the highest number of points. As of now, we have one prize, donated by Elizabeth. Any donations of prizes will be greatly appreciated! If you plan on donating a prize, please let me know at laurasey@wavecable.com or through the group. If you have any questions or concerns, please also send those to me. The main thing is to HAVE FUN with this!!!!!!! and WELCOME SPRING!!!! (none too soon if you ask me!).
laura
Moderator with Elizabeth

Here's a photo of the prize outfit. It's a pair of overalls (my design) and t-shirt from a pattern by Becky Colvin. I will also include some sneakers or boots and possibly a few more pieces to go with it provided I have time to make more. I will re-photograph as we go along and I add things to it. Chloe Grace is modeling and not included, sorry. :) Hope you all can come up with a cute gardening scene! (Elizabeth)

News report: We have just received a small shipment of LD #1s in a darker flesh tone as well as the usual shipment of #1s. Some of the artists have had the dolls shipped to them already. Some came to the studio last weekend to collect their #1s. We had run out of #1s and were anxiously awaiting this shipment. Nelly Valentino flew in from Georgia to work on a project. We spent the week working on the costume design for the centerpiece doll to be presented at a MDCC meal event. Joyce Mathews was planning to come too but was unable due to a last minute attack of the flu. Lana Dobbs, Pat Green and Gwen Peard spent one full day play/working with us. We teamed up on some projects to be offered as workshops at the MDCC. We made eyeglasses, decorated head bands and tried out Nellies new hat forms. We had more fun than humans should be allowed to have. Here’s Nelly, Lana, Gwen’s back and Pat.

Hi all.  Laura and I talked a while back about the possibility of creating some sub-groups for those of you who are non-English speakers to discuss the dolls here in your own language.  I would like to ask if there is interest in this?  If the answer is yes, we can create a few groups in the "Groups" section above for each country.  I know, for example, that we have a sizable membership from Russia and also from France.  Since neither Laura nor I speak these languages fluently (I can read and speak a little French only), if we do want to proceed with this idea, I would ask for a bilingual volunteer to serve as a moderator of these subgroups and any questions or concerns that arose could then be passed up to me or Laura by this moderator.  Any thoughts?  Input?  Ideas?